Car-door mechanism.



No. '758,456'. PATENTED APR. 26, 1904. G. A .-LINDSTRM. CAR DOOR MEGHANISM.

APPLIOATIONV FILED JULY 22, 1903.

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PATENTED APR. 26, 1904.

o. AQLIN'DSTRM. GAR DooR MEGHANISM. APPLIOATION FILI-1D JULY 22,'1903.

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UNITED STATES ratented Apriize, 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

CHARLES A. LINDSTRIWI, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLYANIA, ASSIGNOR kTO PRESSED STEEL OAR OOMPANY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A

CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

. CAR-Doon MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,456, dated April 26, 194.

Application flied July 22, 1903.

To al?, whom, it may concern:

Be it known that LCHARLES A. LINDSTRM, of Allegheny, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Car-Door Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specilication, in which- Figure 1 shows in end elevation a hopper- 1o car provided with my improvement, the body of the car being indicated in dotted outline; and Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line II II of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, 2 2 represent the side sills. 3 is the bolster, and 4 I are doors at the bottom of the car hinged at pivots 5 5. My invention relates to novel mechanism for operating these doors.

6 is the operating shaft, which extends 2o across the car and has, preferably at both ends, squared portions for the application of a handle or hand -wheel, by which it maybe rotated., On this shaft are a pinion 7 and a ratchet-wheel 8, provided with a locking-pawl 9. rIhe pinion 7 is in gear with a gear-wheel 10 at the middle portion of a shaft 11, which also extends across the car, the shafts 6 and 1l being journaled in bearings 12 12 on the side sills 2 and the center sill 13. The dooroperating chains 14 are attached to the shaft 11,near the ends thereof, and pass thence over guide-pulleys 15 to the doors, to'which they are connected at 16. The pulleys 15 are set on shafts 17, which extend at an inclination between bearings 18, which are respectively on the inner sides of the sills 2, and on brackets 19,which project from the side of the hopper. The shaft and pulley being thus inclined, the chain passes directly from the pulley to 40 the car-door, and there is no tendency for the chain in operation to leave the groove of the pulley.

The locking-pawl 9 is operated by a crankshaft 20, which extends across the car and is connected to the pawl by a link 21. The shaft is preferably provided With an operatinghandle20 at each end, so that it may be operated at either side of the car to lift the pawl,

Serial No. 166,538. (No model.)

and thus to free the shafts 6 and 11 and permit the doors to drop. The parts are so placed that when the pawl 9 is in locking engagement the pivotal connection of the link 21 with its crank will Iloe past the dead-center, so that any tendency of the pawl 9 to rise will only press the handle 20 against the beam 22 or other part of the car-frame, by which it is stopped. This prevents elfectually the disengagement of the pawl, which can only be disengaged by upward motion of the handle 20'.

The operation is as follows: To raise the door, the operator raises the pawl 9 by operating the crank-shaft 20 and then rotates the chain-shaft 6, which through the pinion 8 and the larger wheel 10 rotates the chain-shaft 151 at a less speed and winds the chains on this shaft until the doors are closed. As the power is applied to the chain-shaft 11 at its middle portion and transmitted to the chains near the ends of the shaft, the twisting moment on the shaft is reduced to a minimum. A like eiect is had upon the shaft 6 by locating the holding-ratchet 7 and pawl 9 at its middle portion. This is a matter of importance, as it enhances the ease of operation of the parts and renders them more durable.

Within the scope of my invention as delined in the claims the parts may be modi'ed in construction, since What I claim is- 1. Car-door mechanism comprising a chainshaft extending transversely of the car, chains attached thereto and passing over inclined guide-pulleys to the door, and intermediatelylocated, power-transmitting gearing on said chain-shaft; substantially as described.

2. Car-door mechanism comprising a transverse chain-shaft, chains connecting the door with the ends of said shaft, a secondary power- 6. Car-door mechanismhaving a locking ratchet and pawl, a crank-shaft for the pawl, a link between the crank and pawl, an operating-handle and a stop, said parts being arranged relatively to each other so that when the pawl is engaged the link shall be at or past its dead-center; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES A. LINDSTRM.

Witnesses:

G. B. BLEMING, L. M. REDMAN. 

